Bad Dentists and Doctors

[blinc]

Ok, we've all had the quack, so let's hear about your experience. Please let me know I'm not the only one who has bad experiences! Please!!!

I seem to have an awful run of luck when it comes to finding a decent dentist. Yesterday I had to have a tooth pulled. It was the 2nd baby tooth of mine that I've had to have pulled in a year. Thank goodness I only had two and they were both back molars! AND thank goodness other then those two baby teeth, I've got good teeth otherwise. Now I've got to find a good dentist to take care of replacing the lost tooth... I'm not going back to the one I had yesterday!!

Here's how it went... the gumline was sore and swollen (I'm talkin' lots of pain)... obvious sign of infection. I had originally had an appt. for the 7th of Dec. but didn't want to let the infection get out of hand. So, called and went in to get some antibiotics. They made a big deal out of "fitting me in". Well, it turns out, there were only two other people there... they saw the dentist and I was the only one left. They still had an hour before closing time and I was the last patient of the day. But, since it was considered an "emergency" vist, they got to charge me an extra $75.

The worst part was that they decided since they had the time, they would pull the tooth then. Ok, fine. The doc gives me a novocaine shot... in the back of the cheek. About 10 minutes later he comes in and asks how it feels... told him my cheek was numb, but I when I touched my tooth I could definitely still feel it, my tooth wasn't numb at all. He says ok, we'll take care of ya. I thought he meant he was going to give me more novicaine... he didn't... he pulled the tooth! I thought I was going to yell it hurt so badly. It felt like someone was sticking a red hot knitting needle into my jaw. I was so upset. He didn't prescribe anything for the pain, but worst of all NO ANITBIOTICS!!! Even after I asked for them! I'm not stupid... went to two years of college for a CMA and I know when the heck I have an infection... not to mention the fact I've been running a low grade fever for a week! I'm sitting over here freaking out and using listerine like crazy, cause I'm scared to death of getting an infection down into the bone.

Other dentist disasters? One time I went to one for a cleaning. He told me I had three cavities... two in my two front teeth one in the back. He wanted me to come back in a week so he could fill them. I never made the appt... For some reason I didn't believe him, probably because I take pretty good care of my teeth. But I did schedule an appt. with another dentist's office... didn't tell them anything at first and sure enough they said THERE WERE NO CAVITIES AT ALL! Anywhere! I asked the dentist are you sure? Because another dentist said I had three cavitites... two in my front teeth. He said well I sure don't see them, took another look and did xrays... NOPE, no cavitites!! Arrgh! I hate crooked doctors and dentists! So, I went back to the first dentists office a couple weeks later to give him a piece of my mind and to report him to the ADA, but his office was closed down! It just really ticks me off he could have filled my two front teeth, for NO reason and the cosmetic damage alone that could have done! AND just the pain of having to have the teeth filled... PERFECTLY HEALTHY TEETH! AAAAAAAAIIIIEEEEE!!! {mad}

Got a couple more stories for ya. But my hand's just wore out today! Arrgh!

[Debby]

Oh Blinc....I feel so bad for you with getting that tooth pulled without enough novicane. I too have a horror story about a dentist to tell ya.

When I was little, still had all my baby teeth, my parents for some reason decided something was wrong and took me to a specialist in Des Moines...a children's dentist.

He took one look at my mouth, and said that my jaw was smaller than most, and I had too many teeth growing in, because my mouth was too small. (needless to say this causes much laughter when I tell it to people who know me)

Anyway...he pulled 4 of teeth at once that day...one on each side on the top, and one on each side of the bottom. It was awful.

He told my mom he needed to see me every 6 months....needless to say I dreaded that 70 mile trip to see him, like you wouldn't beleive.

Okay....it gets worse.

When I was 10, he told my parents I needed a retainer....said my front teeth were crooked. So they took me in, thinking they were doing the right thing...he was a children's specialist after all, and this is what happened....

I can remember it so clearly...even though it was 25 years ago...he told me he needed to make a mold of my mouth, so he could make the retainer to fit it perfectly....now maybe I should explain first, this was a huge dentistry place, and so there were several dentists that worked there, and there was only one room that they worked on us in.....so there were maybe 10 "beds" for lack of a better word, that were in a row, and maybe 4 dentists milling around working on several different kids....

Anyway.....(sorry I'm long winded)....my dentist put the gooey stuff in a metal holder and inserted into my mouth, it is supposed to set for a few minutes, then they take it out and let it sit till it hardens up and wa la....they have a mold of your mouth. But....

He forgot me. It was way too long before he came back to me. Keep in mind also, I was only 10. The mold was hardening....it would not come out....I rememeber he basically had to chisel it out of my mouth, and the thing that sticks with me the most was this older couple who had come into the room (to see their grandchild, I suppose) anyway...they stood at the foot of the bed I was in, and I remember this so clearly...I had tears pouring out my eyes as he had to chip the hardened mold out of my mouth peice by peice, and it hurt so bad, and I remember this old couple looking at me saying..."Oh the poor thing". It was awful.

It traumatized me. I have a deathly fear of dentists!

Years later, my father told me he was reading a des moines paper (this was after I was grown, and married) and in it, was an article about this same man, who had been my dentist all those years ago, and it said that he had been arrested and charged with molesting female children patients while under the novicane.

Obviously he wasn't in a multi-people room then. How sad. I guess I have alot to be thankful for....that could have been me.

I finally went to a dentist for the first time in 15 years and I had one cavity....after all that time. Unfortunately it was in a wisdom tooth, so they just pulled it.

My gosh........I think I just wrote a book!!! Sorry!!!!

[kezzer]

Ok I am definatly not ever going to the dentist now!!! I haven't been in years!! I know I need to go, I know I have a cavity, my first ever and I am scared to death. I don't want to go after hearing those horror stories!! {eek}

[Debby]

Well Kezzer, not all dentists are like that though...the one I went ot finally after years and years and years, and only because I had to, my cavity was killing me, was very gentle with me, and it wasn't as bad as i thought it would be, even though, yes it did hurt some, but not so bad. He explained to me everything he was doing or going to do and I explained to him how I had a phobea...(sp?) of dentists, and told him why, he said he had heard of that dentist that I mentioned above, and was not at all surprised a had a phobea.

He gave me the laughing gas to dumb my mouth before he pulled the tooth...the cavity was wedged between my wisdom tooth and another and had almost completely decayed the tooth, so he had to puu it, anyway...he came back a bit later, poked around in my mouth and asked if I could feel anything...I said yes. So he gave me more gas.

Then a little later he came in, prepared to pull the tooth, i was shaking, scared stiff, he kept saying....calm down, take it easy hun, it's okay...

When he started to pull it...I felt it big time!! I hollered...and he stopped. So he said, well I will give you more gas, and i'll be back to get that tooth.

A few minutes later, the nurse came in and took the gas mask thing, what ever it's called, off my nose, and asked how I was doing now. I giggled, several times actually...and then I said..."you'd better take the gas off now, because I am laughing, and there is absolutely nothing funny about this situation at all!!"

So then when the dentist actually did pull the tooth, all I felt was pressure, like tugging, but no real pain. He had to use some machine though, to break the tooth into peices to get it out, because it wouldn't come out and he said...Remind me that nothing comes easy for you.....and I said...thats the story of my life.

So all in all, it wasn't bad. So please Kezzer, don't judge all dentists by the ones you have heard about here, except the last one. There are really great dentists out there.

Or you could come to Iowa, and go to mine...LOL (the new one that is, not the childhood one) :)

[kezzer]

Phew!!! Well my hubby takes the kids and himself to a dentist that he really likes. And the kids do too, so when I finally gather enough strength to make the appointment that's where I'm going to go. I'm still a bit scared though! Actually more like {chicken} !

[Military Mom]

I have no idea how ANYONE could become a dentist - how could you listen to the sound of that horrible hellish drill going all day, every day.

And pulling teeth???? I did that once - we had a trauma patient - a very unfortunate, sweet elderly man was driving his truck and a SWARM of bees invaded ... he wrecked and had a spiral fracture going longways on his thighbone (femur) - and his front tooth was knocked loose. Dr. Hall was the oral surgeon on call that night, so we had him come in. I had just finished telling the trauma surgeon how BAD I hated going to the dentist, and how bad I felt for our patient. He laughed at me, and told me that I was to assist Dr. Hall. Lucky me. Before I knew what was going on, Dr. Hall handed me a pair of pliers and told me I was going to pull the patient's tooth out!!! He INSISTED! So I did! I'll never forget that - you have to pull it in a corkscrew type motion .... eeewwww - I'd rather see blood and guts anytime!

And as for rotten doctors, those who are mean to patients are usually big creeps to the nurses too. I guess they do it to make up for pathetic egos or pathetic little other things ...

mm

[blinc]

Oh gosh Debby, I know exactly what goop you're talking about. I had TMJ quite bad in my 20's and had to have a cast of my teeth/mouth done, for the realignment doohickey. I can't imagine having that stuff left in til it set up like that. How absolutely horrible... what a traumatic experience that must have been for you. That is just awful!!!

*shiver* ewww Military Mom, I'm with you there. I can picture how hard that must have been. Think I'd rather deal with an open wound any day, over having to pull someone's tooth out. eeewwwwwwwwww!!

Kezzer, as a kid I had an excellent dentist... he was very nice, patient and gentle. Just wish I could find one like him again!

Ok, here's another experience I had, with an oral surgeon this time. I was in my early 20's and wisdom teeth were coming in. I didn't have enough room so my regular dentist (the good one I had since being a kid) sent me to an oral surgeon. Two wisdom teeth were through the gumline, two weren't... so the surgeon recommended he put me under, go in and get all four so I wouldn't have to have a 2nd surgery. It meant he'd have to cut into the gum to extract the two that hadn't come through yet. I thought it was a good idea since I didn't want to go through it twice. He's puts me under... I wake up and everything seems fine.

Couldn't eat anything, even after a few days, because my mouth hurt horribly everytime I tried to open it. Was eating through a straw. After about a week goes by, I finally call my regular dentist, tell him it's an emergency because I can't stand the pain anymore. I had called the oral surgeon and he just said wait the full 10 days and come in to have the stitches taken out.

Well, I get to my reg dentist, he says lets have a look. Wants me to "open wide". I can't!! I tell him I can't open my mouth wide, because it hurts too bad. He says ok and uses a mirror thing to have a look. He gets the little round mirror back there, sucks in his breath and says (quote) "What the heck has he done to you? He was furious!! The surgeon had stitched my gumline back together, where he had to cut in and pull the two wisdom teeth that hadn't come through yet... but when he stitched the gumline back together, he sewed it to the inside of my cheek!! So, everytime I tried to open my mouth, it was sawing through my cheek tissue. It was beginning to get an infection. Ooooh, my dentist was SO mad his face turned beet red. Arrgh! You wouldn't believe how bad that hurt. But my dentist cut the stitches, sent me home with some pain pills and antibiotics. He took good care of me!

[Karenluvs6]

I won't go to the dentist at all either...well, once Beezwax talked me into going, but that was three years ago.
When I was a child (9), my mom took me to the dentist. It was a regular check up, nothing was wrong to our knowledge. He told my mom that I needed a root canal and had to have 11 teeth filled!!!
Did you ever?!?!?!?!
well, instead of taking my for a second opinion, she just said OK and followed up on it. He filled three of my teeth and started the root canal on the next visit. When he was doing the root canal, he hit a nerve while poking this needle looking thing up inside my tooth. It made me jump clear out of the chair!! Literally!!! My mom finally decided it was time for a second opinion...the new dentist told my mom I had NO cavities and didn't need any root canal. Can you believe that?!?!
The other guy said I had 11 and he had only filled 3....so what happened to the other 8??
When I went three years ago, at the request of Beezwax....I had NO cavities and no problems. After 21 years of not going. I take very good care of my teeth, even though I don't go.
This is why I won't go to the dentist.

[Debby]

Oh Blinc that is awful!! I think I would have reported that surgeon, my gosh! No wonder you couldn't open your mouth!

And Karen, I have heard of similar instances where one dentist says there are cavities and the next one doesnt...how the heck are these people getting by with this?? I hope you reprted him too! Someone should do a undercover special on this, like on primetime live or 20/20.

[Military Mom]

Wow, Blinc! What a horrible thing to have happen! Ill bet your dentisit NEVER sent a soul to that oral idiot again after THAT! Wonder how he managed to do that!

I was lucky w/ my wisdom teeth - had all 4 out at once when i was 16. My Dentist this time was actually very good, and I wish I could go back to him - Dr. Novellin in Colorado. He gave me Nitrous Oxide (laughing gas), and was very kind to me, and he really didn't hurt that much. I did go home and throw up, but I don't know if that was from swallowing blood or the Percocet I took. (To this day I won't take Percs!) I also had trouble getting my mouth open and had a LOT of pain and swelling, but I think I just had a hard time healing.

Someday I will have to go back - soon as I have a dental plan and can afford braces! Does anyone here pay for their kid's or their own braces? How much do they usually cost and how steep are the payments - if you don't mind saying? I have an overbite that I have always wanted to get fixed.

mm

[blinc]

You know, I'm with Debby... maybe we ought to write to 60 minutes and ask for an investigation!! I thought it was just something that was a freak chance... but after reading these stories I'm beginning to wonder just how many dentists out there are filling our teeth when we don't have cavities. This is really upsetting.

MM - I don't have kids so don't know about braces... but I imagine they'd probably give you a free quote at some place? I think I heard they run around $1,500 but am absolutely not sure on that.

[Lisa]

Oh I got a doozey of a dentist story! When I was in 7th grade, I had to get braces. The problem was that I had only lost 3 teeth yet. So, they decided to pull the rest. Within a few months, I had all my baby teeth pulled - that's where it gets bad. First they pulled my front ones - it didn't go too badly but I had never even had a cavity so I had expected it to be more painless than it was. I had gaping holes in my mouth - how do you bite with 3 front teeth that have braces on them? VERY slowly my teeth began to grow in. When I still had stubbs for teeth it was time to pull my back baby teeth. This is where it gets nasty! I had opted for the gas - on the advice of "friends" in my class, they said it was "cool!" It made me loopier than loopy then I got sick to my stomach. So - cancel appointment one! My mom had to cary me out to the car! The next appointment, no gas and no mom - just me, dad, novacaine and the dentist! The x-rays weren't encouraging. The roots were wrapped arround my jawbone. This brilliant dentist decided to yank on them anyway. That wasn't working because I was small enough he was pulling me out of the chair. So his solution to this was to have my dad - ready for this? - sit on me! 3 teeth ended up breaking in several pieces and had to be removed later. I had whiplash from this appointment to top it all off! It took a while for my teeth to grow in - what a humiliating experience, in Jr Hi no less!

When it came time to have my wisdom teeth pulled I wasn't to sure. I was 21. I went in to see a new oral surgeon. I had waited till I couldn't get my mouth open because my teeth had turned in such a way that it was blocking my jaw from opening (don't ask me how). He took one look at me and smiled. I was terrified! I made my appointment for later that week and he decided to "gas me." All I remember after that is waking up a few minutes later, or so it seemed, and they were telling me I could go home. I slept the rest of the day and my mouth never bothered me! I didn't even swell up like a rodent! I was SO pleased!

So, from the quack to the wonder-Dr, I've had them both.

[Austruck]

All you people are doing is convincing me still further that I've had my fill (no pun intended) of dentists.

I've been through braces (twice--got the first set off and wrecked the car the next month and had to get them back on ... my folks LOVED that). I knocked out a tooth in front, too, so I've had a partial upper plate since age 17.

I've been through a weird extraction in 8th grade ... My permanent upper eyeteeth never came in, they were impacted up in my jaw alongside either side of my nose, so they gassed me and took them out, leaving stitches in my gums.

I had nausea in the car on the way home, and by the way, heard the dentist say, "Hurry with that, she's waking up" as I was coming out of the gas. My entire face swelled up so bad my mom called me "Chipmunk Cheeks" for weeks (I got so sick of chicken noodle soup and applesauce).

And it felt entirely creepy to have stitches taken out of your gums. I've had stitches taken out of my head over a dozen times over the years (which explains a lot about me), but the gums were just too weird for words.

(shudder) I'll just do what my dad did: Let 'em all rot over the course of several decades, have 'em all pulled someday, and go with dentures. :) Seems the least of all evils to me. ;)

[Debby]

Oh Lisa, I sure wish all dentists were like your last one!!!

[Karenluvs6]

I think all dentists are part of a secret society like cult..they plot and scheme and have strange, late night meetings and stuff. They are all in it together and no one is safe from them.

[blinc]

Ouch, Ouch, Ouch, Ouch, Ouch!! Oh Lisa, I can't imagine having that happen as a kid. What an awful experience! I bet you were terrified of dentists after that. Makes my teeth hurt just to hear that!

Austruck, or should we call you Chipmunk? *giggle* Sorry, couldn't help that. I've never had gas before. Does it put you all the way under? Or do you know what's happening but just don't care?

[PsalmReader]

Lisa, OUCH!!

When I had my wisdom teeth taken out, my little girl was only about 1 1/2 months old. I was so tired!! I was just kind of falling asleep with the gas. Then the nurse said, "T..., are you doing okay?". I kind of woke up and said "Yes". Well that freaked me out because I sounded like I was on an audio tape that had been slowed down and my voice lowered. I made a couple of comments about that. STRANGE! Then another nurse came in and whispered for her to leave me alone/ not talk to me. LOL Then I asked if I should just try to go to sleep. She said yes if I felt sleepy to go ahead. I did. I felt like I was water going down the drain in the tub!! WEIRD! The room was spinning around so fast and it was like the sides were turning black and my view was getting smaller and smaller. FREAKY!

They had to wake me up to go to the little recovery room, where I again feel asleep. They had to tell my husband to wake me up and get me out of there. {yawn} LOL I think I could have stayed all day and slept. (BTW, that's supposed to be a yawn, but I don't think it looks like one.)

It wasn't that bad of an experience. Expensive though!

[jamesglewisf]

I had my wisdom teeth pulled as a teenager. I remember the strange feeling of waking up in a different room.

[blinc]

So gas does knock you out then? I always wondered about that.

[jamesglewisf]

I don't know if laughie gassie will knock you out. I had a root canal where they gave me that stuff. It was really weird. It got to the point where I actually thought, "Man, it sure seems like they are giving me too much of this stuff, but I don't want to tell them." Of course, they weren't giving me too much. It was just more than I had ever had.

[Lisa]

Well, the gas I had knocked me out like a light! I don't know if it was the same stuff I had when I was younger but the stuff I had with my wisdom teeth knocked me out right away. I doubt I sat there, awake, for more than 2 minutes! Kinda like what T. / PsalmReader said - only, I was a druggie then so I just enjoyed the feeling and went with it. Besides, I was tired. :)

[Berta]

I had a bad experience this weekend. My youngest daughter was complaining of a ear ache so I took her to the clinic because my doctors was closed. The doctor checked her ears and told me she had a double ear infection. I already knew this because her regular doctor has named her the ear infection queen. My daughter is allergic to certain antibiotics so the doctor gave her the one her doctor normally gives her. This doctor asked me if two teaspoons twice a day sounds right, I told him I don't remember she hasn't had a ear infection since last winter. So he wrote it out two teaspoons twice a day. This didn't sound right to me so I called my doctor first thing Monday morning and asked her she told that was wrong it should be one teaspoon twice a day. Thank goodness I was only giving her one and half teaspoons twice a day. When I asked a parent of a child that I provider care for who was a MA at the clinic about this doctor she told me he was the Medical Director of the clinic. I know a few people who have had bad experiences there lately from now on if my doctor is closed or it is a emergency we are going to a different emergency room.

[Austruck]

The gas I had with my impacted eyeteeth did knock me out. They did the "count backwards from 100" thing, and the last number I remember is 97.

I felt like I'd been out for ages when I woke up with them still stitching up my gums, but when I peeked at the clock in the dark, tiny "recovery room" (more like a recovery closet), it had been something like 5-10 minutes. Man, they must've cut the gums, yanked (with the roots impacted up high along my nose on either side, they said), and sewn me back up in a big hurry! No wonder my whole face swelled up. I was very glad not to have been awake for that!

Blech!

[Lisa]

That was painfull just reading about! OUCH!!!